While the invention is subject to a wide range of applications, it is especially related to therapeutic applications and will be particularly described in that connection.
In the area of child psychotherapy, a problem is often created in dealing with the child because the therapist is often seen as the ultimately powerful adult who has been called in because the child has been "bad". The child may make a tremendous effort to hide all evidence of the problem and resists involvement in the therapeutic situation by being uncooperative, inhibited, shy, withdrawn, etc. In this way, the child patient prevents the therapist from satisfactorily communicating and helping the child. In therapy, various types of non-verbal communication such as for example, play, drawing, and painting may be as meaningful as the spoken word. Play is one of the child's natural modes of communication and the fantasies that can be evoked while involved in play can provide significant information about the psychological processes that are at the roots of the child's problems. The present invention provides a desirable approach in working with a younger age group (from approximately 6-14 years old) by combining the creative aspects of play and art therapy with a structured game. The resultant therapeutic creative game is used as a method of engaging the withdrawn or uncooperative child into therapeutic involvement and simultaneously serving as a diagnostic aid for the therapist.
In the past, a number of patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,013,294 to Smeda; U.S. Pat. No. 3,815,919 to Cain; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,124,358 to Weedman have illustrated various types of educational and psychological games.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a creative, projective play game for engaging the withdrawn or uncooperative child into therapeutic involvement.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a creative, projective play game which is a diagnostic aide for a therapist.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a creative projective game to stimulate insight, facilitate communication, to learn new skills, and to aid in personal growth.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a creative projective play game which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture.